Rowena's Hunt
by Death7270
Summary: Original story. Rowena daughter of Fennier bastard son of Odin. Sends word that she is seeking a husband. Enjoy ye olde fun.


Disclaimer: These are my characters. I own them. Bet you wish you did. :P

* * *

Long ago when the land was ruled by kings and warlords.

There was a village, nestled in the mountains between 5 great kingdoms. This village was ruled by a barbarian Princess called Rowena. Daughter of the late and great Chieftain Fennier whom most believed had been the bastard son of Odin (king or the Norse gods), standing at a little of 7 and a half foot she was taller than most men.

Her muscles were hard from years of war and training, she could better any man or woman for a hundred leagues in single combat.

She was a proud and resourceful leader and had kept her people well fed by leading raids on the trade routes between the lower kingdoms. Though technically a self-proclaimed royal the lower kingdoms recognised her authority and the mountains were considered her lands since she would strike down any who tried to lay claim to them.

Without the support of the kingdoms. The merchants had only two options if they wished to trade with each other. They could dispatch their wagons the long way round the mountains and spend 2 or so months in safe travel or they could take the risk and cross through the mountains taking less than two weeks to perform the journey.

While many did manage to pass unscathed. A lot did not.

When the merchants began to band together as guilds Rowena changed her tactics slightly. She made deals with them. For a reasonable sum, a toll as such, they could pass. If they refused to pay they were hunted down and their trade goods taken for trespassing in her peoples lands.

To the merchants the toll was cheaper than losing their goods or paying mercenaries. And with a steady flow of gold into the coffers Rowena's village prospered even more. It became a time of relative peace and boredom.

And Rowena sought other means to amuse herself.

* * *

As a woman she had many lovers, both male and female. She was considered by those that had seen her as beautiful as she was deadly. Her bed was never cold, but she grew tired of exhausting countless bedmates.

She sought more powerful game that could prove themselves worthy. Though she doubted she would ever find such she wish for at least lovers that had some strength and prowess.

When a passing merchant had informed her that one of the lower kingdoms princesses had come of age and her father had dispatched letters to the nobles of the lands for interest in the princesses hand. Rowena had an idea.

She sent out proposals for suitors to be her husband. Any man (or woman) who could pass her challenges would be her husband and chieftain of her people.

However there were 4 tasks that had to be completed to prove yourself worthy of such a place.

The first was a test of strength, the suitor had to heft her sword and cleave a tree in twain.

The second was a feat of endurance, the suitor had to climb a steep hill face near her village, unaided by rope or tool, laden with her weight in lead.

The third was a show of skill, the suitor had to hurl a stone axe into a targets centre at 100 steps away.

Should the suitor win at all those tasks the fourth was simply an unarmed or armoured fight/wrestling match with her.

The winner would truly be her better should they win.

Several of her own villagers attempted the challenges but none could manage them. Even when they failed she would wrestle with them to prove they were her lesser.

The ultimate goal was to find many strong lovers by testing her strength against them outside her bed.

Barbarian kings from faraway lands came to see her and try their luck but none won out. Each time she would perform the task to show how it was done, but her prospected suitors would ultimately fail.

As news spread to the lower kingdoms suitors from all over travelled to test their might. Even if they failed one test she would give them the chance to try another. Several actually did pass one but no one ever performed all 3 and no one could best her in the final fight.

Rowena was having the time of her life watching the fools fail one after another. The tests had been created specifically for her. Only with her life skills and training would someone pass the tests and having done them over and over to prove they could be done to her suitors only made her better at them.

* * *

It was during the 3rd summer after issuing the challengers that a company of men came to the village in the mountains. At their head rode a sickly looking young man no older than Rowena herself.

He looked frail and very weak, little muscle covered his bones and he rode as if frightened the horse would eat him. Rowena had laughed when he presented himself as her suitor.

"Princess Rowena I am Prince Andrew of the Lower Kingdom of Valdez and I have come to seek your hand."

Rowena had scoffed at his formal manner. He spoke as if he were a diplomat, every word precise and perfect.

"As you can see Princess I am no warrior. I am truly a pathetic example of what a man is. I have spent all my life indoors away from any physical exertion. Reading books and learning to run a kingdom. I can offer you no strength, no sword arm nor could I hold a shield in your defence."

"That is very true, Prince. You would not last a second between my thumb and forefinger what hope do you have when between my thighs."

"All true, but what I can offer you is my power. I will be king and my kingdom in strong, not even your barbarians could break or route the line of my kingdoms army nor could you steal out gold. My kingdom is the richest, of all the kingdoms you had once raided you never got further than our border."

Rowena bristled, what he said was true, not even the merchants that left his kingdom had been touched as his soldiers escorted them through the mountains and back again. Not once had they paid the toll."

"Still, to be my husband you must win all 3 challenges and beat me into the ground."

She got up and stretched walking over picking up her sword and cut the log in two. Trees had become sparse and she now had thick logs prepared for the task.

"There puny Prince, do your worst."

"As your challenge states, using your sword I must cut a tree in two."

The sword was the length of a grown man. Made from hardened barbarian steel one side was sharp while the other serrated for added damage.

Prince Andrew walked over and picked up the sword or tried to. Dragging it over to his log he set it on the wood. Slowly he rocked the sword back and forth. Piece by piece removing a section of the wood.

"Wait. That is not how it is supposed to be done."

"But your challenge says I only have to cut the wood in half with the sword, not how it's supposed to be done."

For the next 2 hours prince Andrew cut with sword, taking a rest break quite a few times. Finally the log split and the challenge was over.

"Interesting prince. Next."

"I beg to rest." He said panting hard "Can we recommence tomorrow?"

Rowena could not say no many of her past suitors had taken such breaks.

"At dawn we continue."

* * *

The next morning Rowena rose and walked out to the cliff face.

She found the prince seated and being served breakfast.

"Care to join me my future wife?"

"Cocky aren't we." She stated and gave a hearty laugh "Very well."

They ate; Prince Andrew had a very small plate of bread and cheese with some fresh fruit. Rowena on the other hand consumed half a roast pig and a large platter of bread and gravy. The Prince had mocked, that he would have to teach her some table manners after they were married.

Sated the task began.

Rowena stood on a grain scale and an equal balance of lead bars were put on the other. Once set, she loaded the bars into a pack and climbed the cliff face.

It took her less than 10 minutes to do the climb. Those who had actually succeeded in this event had taken almost three times that in the past.

Prince Andrew stepped up to the bag and removed the lead. Selecting about an eighth he made to scramble up the rocks.

"Wait. That is not how it is done."

"But the challenge only says I have to carry you weight in lead up the wall not that it had to be done all at once. I intend to make multiple trips."

The first run took over an hour. He looked and felt exhausted, but had carefully watched her climb and had followed the handholds her great fingers had worn into the rock. The next run took about the same time but his legs were giving out on him quite badly. Over a period of 4 days he climbed up that wall with a eighth of her weigh in lead.

By the end of it a crowd had formed to watch his progress.

* * *

It was a week before he could move and another week before he felt ready to go on. Each morning Rowena would have breakfast with him admiring his determination and resilience. She knew there was no way he could 'cheat' the next task.

Rowena hefted a large stone axe and threw it with the grace of a killer. Hitting the target dead centre. If it had been a man he would have been cleaved in half.

She watched Prince Andrew approached the 100 step line. One of his men ran over and handed him a bag. He reached inside and pulled out a very small axe and threw it underarm. The axe missed by about a foot.

Furious that he had worked out another way to get around her challenge she walked over to listen to his explanation.

"Oh, throw a stone axe and hit a target at 100 steps in the middle."

He pulled another axe from the bag and threw missing again.

"Each of these axes are specially crafted for me. Light but weighted right, I do not have the strength to throw like you did overarm."

He tossed another one and it arched through the air, sailing over the target.

"I'll get it eventually"

14 more tires and one axe hit perfectly in the middle. His arms felt like lead and he fainted on the spot.

* * *

The next day.

Rowena laughed at herself. Here was a weakling and he had technically defeated each of her impossible tasks.

He now stood in just a loincloth, his white and skinny body being oiled and readied for the wrestling match.

She knew with this task he had no chance of winning. It would be her muscles crushing him.

But he wore a smile and still kept calling her his wife to be and that pissed her off. She toyed with the idea of letting him bed her and wondered if she could actually crush him between her thighs.

She stood up from her throne. At 2 foot taller than he, body glistening with oil she looked like a true terror. She walked towards him and they clasped hands friendly like. She could have crushed his hand with no effort.

Parting they began to circle each other.

He stood still a moment too long and she charged. And ran head first into the ground. She had no idea how he had done it but he had moved out of her way.

She tried again but he ducked and crawled between her legs. She turned and he was still walking around her. It was infuriating, every time she made a move he would run away from her.

Finally she began chasing him fully. Weaving and homing in on him. He was panting hard but still ran. Then he bolted out of the circle into the crowd.

She set off after him throwing those that got in the way of her hunt out of her way. He was actually running away from her. He kept ahead of her for almost an hour.

He would hide and rest and she had had to search for him, finally she had had enough.

He stood panting in the middle of the village surrounded by everyone.

She stood on the edge of the crowd and shouted "That's it, if you are not going to fight me then I've had it. You are a pathetic coward."

"You're giving up, I still raring to go." he had shouted back.

"Pah" She turned and walked back to her thrown calling for a drink.

"The fourth task, fight hand to hand, unarmoured and unaided against you until forced to surrender or dead. I guess I win since you gave up."

Rowena realised what she had done.

"You cannot be serious, you think you have won I will crush you to pulp."

"That you could my queen, in an instant. And I know I have won in a way you had not expected but like you barbarians say a win is a win."

She had to admit he had a point. She had been beaten.

Slowly her mind worked over where she had gone wrong and she realised that over the past month that he had been there she had grown to admire him.

Taking her goblet she saluted him. The crowd cheered as he walked up towards her.

With a smile she chuckled "I doubt you will survive our wedding night."

"You doubt allot of things about me, my wife."


End file.
